These past few days, the office's inbox is bombarded (another one, right after the MATTA AGM fiasco) with various e-mails from both the players in the tourism industry from Malaysia and Indonesia. The Indonesians with their so-called 'nationalism' and us Malaysians trying to defend what we call 'culture'.
First of all, let me clarify here that I do not know this 'pendet' dance at all. Yes, call me ignorant but since it's not part of our culture, why the hell should I care? I'm not nationalist enough, though, to actually search every freaking traditional dance there are in our country. I just only heard the word 'pendet' recently. It seems that Discovery TV network made a big mess with their telly commercial entitled "Enigmatic Malaysia". The commercial featured Balinese Pendet dance clip which caused the ruckus and uproar. Big mistake, Discovery.
The Indonesians are frothing over their mouth with the commercial and they run amok on Twitter, bashing the entire Malaysia nation. And of course, the Indonesian media had had a field day with this issue. This issue, I believe, is blown out of proportion. The Tourism Ministry denied any participation in the 30-seconds ad and scrambled to clarify things immediately. Discovery TV network admitted their mistake and send an official apology letter to the ministry. But the damage has been done, I'm afraid.
For long the Indonesians had been accusing us of stealing their 'culture'. We steal their batik. We steal their wayang. We steal their 'Rasa Sayang' song. Some Indonesians even claim Rafflesia arnoldi, the biggest flower species in the world, as belongings of Indonesia because it only lives in Sumatra province! However, according to the Singapore Library Board, the flower also lives in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. We are thieves. Horror of all horrors. Right. What could be next, I wonder? Maybe Obefiend has better ideas.
I'm not even going to explain about batik or wayang or whatever else that Indonesians are claiming theirs. But they do kick up a lot of fuss about it, just like the Manohara issue. Boy, do they live up to their sinetron standard! And Discovery, better check your sources next time. By the way, I thought Riyadi Suparno summed it up pretty well in The Jakarta Post but being the cynic that I am, I do detect bits and pieces of sarcasm. And maybe; just maybe; he's poking fun at our tourism authorities/board/ministry. Who knows?
First of all, let me clarify here that I do not know this 'pendet' dance at all. Yes, call me ignorant but since it's not part of our culture, why the hell should I care? I'm not nationalist enough, though, to actually search every freaking traditional dance there are in our country. I just only heard the word 'pendet' recently. It seems that Discovery TV network made a big mess with their telly commercial entitled "Enigmatic Malaysia". The commercial featured Balinese Pendet dance clip which caused the ruckus and uproar. Big mistake, Discovery.
The Indonesians are frothing over their mouth with the commercial and they run amok on Twitter, bashing the entire Malaysia nation. And of course, the Indonesian media had had a field day with this issue. This issue, I believe, is blown out of proportion. The Tourism Ministry denied any participation in the 30-seconds ad and scrambled to clarify things immediately. Discovery TV network admitted their mistake and send an official apology letter to the ministry. But the damage has been done, I'm afraid.
For long the Indonesians had been accusing us of stealing their 'culture'. We steal their batik. We steal their wayang. We steal their 'Rasa Sayang' song. Some Indonesians even claim Rafflesia arnoldi, the biggest flower species in the world, as belongings of Indonesia because it only lives in Sumatra province! However, according to the Singapore Library Board, the flower also lives in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. We are thieves. Horror of all horrors. Right. What could be next, I wonder? Maybe Obefiend has better ideas.
I'm not even going to explain about batik or wayang or whatever else that Indonesians are claiming theirs. But they do kick up a lot of fuss about it, just like the Manohara issue. Boy, do they live up to their sinetron standard! And Discovery, better check your sources next time. By the way, I thought Riyadi Suparno summed it up pretty well in The Jakarta Post but being the cynic that I am, I do detect bits and pieces of sarcasm. And maybe; just maybe; he's poking fun at our tourism authorities/board/ministry. Who knows?
as much as i enjoy Sekar and 3 Pengantin Untuk Ayahku, i can't help but be outraged by the blatant disregard. come on lah, you call us all sorts of names and when we put up a fight, it suddenly becomes our fault?
ReplyDeletedahla panggil kita Malingsia apa sume. tak guna betul. and that Manohara and her mother are liars. someone in my family said that Manohara gained 13 kg during her stay in Kelantan. itu ke ciri-ciri orang yang kena dera apa sume?
i suspect that manohara's mother is behind all this drama. dia igt kalau dpt title royalty then boleh tumpang sekaki but unfortunately tak dapat. that's why la all these abuse allegations. then suddenly dia pakai tudung... sinetron sungguh
ReplyDelete